


blue marks, tear stains

by jikarico



Series: Long Nights, Short Mornings [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: ??? - Freeform, Angst, Byleth too but shes not actually THERE, Crying, F/F, How Do I Tag, Hurt No Comfort, Painting, Tears, but im tagging her anyway, huberts there for like 2 seconds, i hope i got edelgards character right, lin and petra are mentioned, no beta we die like Glenn, this fic came to me in a vision
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25774405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jikarico/pseuds/jikarico
Summary: Her professor is still missing.And Edelgard grives through blue and grey.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Long Nights, Short Mornings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872151
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	blue marks, tear stains

One stroke.

Two strokes.

A tear drops on the canvas.

Three strokes.

Her vision becomes blurred with tears.

As the fourth makes its way across the portrait, more tears fall from her eyes.

And more, and more. 

Soon enough, the canvas as been stained from the wake of her misery. But she doesn't stop the strokes from her paintbrush.

Five, six, even seven later- she still doesn't stop through the tears of her past mistakes. 

_If she had been faster._

_If she had been smarter._

_If she had been closer._

Then maybe her teacher would still be alive. Just _maybe_.

Edelgard lowers her paintbrush and places it on the table beside her. The leftover paint was dripping on the wood from the brushes hairs.

_(Some of the tips from Edelgard fingers were blue also, a sickening contrast to the deep red blood Edelgard spilt on her hands just days ago in battle.)_

The emperor set the canvas next to her brush. She reached up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

_No time for tears during a war_ , Edelgard remembers her teacher saying once. And, as the student she still is, Edelgard followed those words. Even if her face shows the remnants of those tears.

The emperor stands up and grabs her tears-stained canvas and places it in her bottom drawer, where even more blue (and teal) portraits lay.

She closes it quickly.

Edelgard wipes the blue and graphite marks off her fingers with a damp cloth. Edelgard rarely removes her gloves off her hands, as the scars that lay there hunt mind every time she sees them. The blemishes take her back to a place much worse than war.

She shakes her head and pulls on her gloves, trying to forget things that happened years ago. As Edelgard turns around, her eyes lock on something hanging next to her regalia.

That something being the Sword of The Creator. With its jagged, unknown material and blessings of the goddess; its the most powerful blade in all of Fódlan.

The divine sword was the only thing found in the rubble of the church. Not a single drop of blood was found under what debris they were able to move. Not a single thing hinting that her professor could be under there, waiting to be seen.

Perhaps only the sword survived, as a way of mocking the emperor. Maybe the goddess has had enough of the pain Edelgard had caused others. Angered that she would cause someone so rare and unique to be slain by someone of the church. The axe-fighter dismisses those thoughts quickly.

Edelgard takes a deep breath and stares at the sky. The sun is starting to set.

Edelgard remembers her teacher saying to appreciate the small things in life. _Because if you don't; you would slowly forget them_.

She gazed off in the distance for a while, taking in the purple and oranges of the sky. Until a knock at her door interrupted her peaceful solitude. The door opens slowly, and it isn't shut again.

"Lady Edelgard," _Hubert_.

"Yes?" She doesn't take her eyes off the sky above.

"Linhart request your presents by the drawbridge," He bows, Edelgard doesn't need to see him to know that. "He and Petra found something worth your while, Your Majesty."

She rips her eyes away from the soon-to-be colourless sky to nod to Hubert. He bows again and leaves, closing the door. If he had caught a glimpse of her puffy eyes or her red cheeks; he didn't say anything. He never does.

She wished to look up again, but the mix of black and dark blue that's covering the orange would force Edelgard to remember thoughts she had just forgotten.

She dons her regalia and grabs her axe. As she walks out, she leaves a longing touch on the sword hangs proudly on her wall. The armoured-covered fingers gloss over the hilt, feeling more than just longing in that moment.

And while El holds her head high, she fears the dawn. Knowing time betrays.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment and give criticism if needed.


End file.
